Amalgamator.



F. J. HOYT.

AMALGAMATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 9, 1911 1,042,229 Patented Oct. 22, 1912. I

COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH co, WASHINGTON, D. c.

UNITED %TATE% PATENT @FFIfiE.

FREDERICK J. I-IOYT, OF REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA.

AMALGAMATOR.

Application filed August 9, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Fimnnnion J. Hor'r, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Redlands, county of San Bernardino, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amalgamators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention herein has particular reference to dry amalgamation, and the object is to provide an amalgamator which is particularly adapted to save the fine and flower gold in powdered ore, and the fine gold in placer beds, by using air instead of water.

It is well known that in all machinery in which quicksilver is used in connection with an air blast failures have resulted, for two reasons: first, through the loss of quicksilver and amalgam, which, by the direct action of air blown onto the cylinder, or other structure of the amalgamator, dissipates the same, by gathering it in small globules, so that it passes off with the pulp or powdered material, as no provision is made to arrest the globules of quicksilver; and second, when the pulp is screened a certain percentage is reduced to from 300 to 500 mesh, and is practically so fine that it adheres to the quicksilver on the cylinder and cannot be blown off by the action of the air blast which carries at least 95% of the pulp through the machine, and the result is that in a machine which receives a large quantity of pulp each day, the cylinder becomes so tho-roughly coated with the ore dust that the cylinder cannot or will not lift a new body of quicksilver, hence the. gold has no quicksilver presented to it as it is blown through the machine, and is, therefore, carried out to the ore dump.

In consequence of the foregoing condit-ions, a machine of this character, used as a dry mill, is totally useless, and with a view of overcoming the foregoing objections, and also in order to adapt the same structural form of machine for the use of water, I will explain in detail my invention.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a vertical section of the body of my improved amalgamator. Fig. 2 is a vertical horizontal section of the body of the amalgamator. Fig. 3 is an end view of one of the amalgamating pans, partly in section.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section of one of' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 22,1912.

Serial No. 643,152.

the amalgamating pans, and Fig. 5 is an end view of the amalgamating cylinder. wlth the quicksilver pan in cross section. i

In constructing my invention I provide a frame, which comprises the corner posts 8, which are connected together by the upper longitudinal bars 9, and cross bars 10, and the lower longitudinal bars 11, and cross bars 12, and intermediate the bars 11, and parallel therewith are other longitudinal bars 13, the ends of which rest on the cross bars 12 to form a support for the body of the amalgamator.

At each end of the frame is a vertical post 14 secured at its ends to the cross bars 10, 12, and these posts serve as a means for journaling the cylinder shafts.

The body of the amalgamator is made up of sections, built up on each other and bolted together, and the cylinder and other mechanism are secured within these sections, as they are laid up, thereby providing a simple, eflicient means for knocking down the amalgamator, transporting it, and again setting it up wherever it may be required. In Fig. 2 I show a pair of these sections, 15, all the sections being substantially similar, except that the upper section 16, has a top or cover portion 17 with a longitudinallydisposed ore inlet opening or slit for the crushed ore, and the lower section 18 has a base or bottom 20 provided with a discharge opening 21. Each section has flanges 22, by means of which they may be bolted together. The interior of the body thus formed contains a pair of amalgamating cylinders, 23, 24, mounted on the horizontal shafts 25, 26, above each other, these shafts being journaled at their ends to the vertical intermediate posts 14.

The upper cylinder is driven by a pulley 27, and the shafts of the two cylinders, at their opposite ends, carry inter-meshing gear wheels 28, 29, so that the cylinders travel in opposite directions; or they may be belted together, if it is desired to turn them in the same direction.

Below each cylinder is a quicksilver pan 80. Openings 31 are formed through two of the intermediate sections, and at one end from which one end of each pan projects a short distance, and in order to effect a closure above the body of the quicksilver 32, a gate 33, vertically movable in suitable c these converging channels terminate at the deflecting channels, as shown at 47, is for a 3 larged portion of the channel causes a whorl guides 34, slides down to cover the open space between the surface of the quicksilver and the upper edge of the opening 31.

As will be observed, the cylinders are designed to be rotated within the pans so that they will thus be able to constantly come in contact with the quicksilver, and in order to provide a means for removing all superfluous quicksilver, I have two scraping blades parallel with the axes of the cylinders, one of the scraping blades 85 being at that edge of the pan where the cylinder moves up and the other scraper or scrapers 86 on the edge of the pan where the cylinder moves downwardly. But these latter scrapers are located inwardly fromthe edge of the pan, so that any scrapings from the cylinder will fall within the pan.

At the upper end of the amalgamator body, and below the inlet slit or opening 18, is an A-shaped blade 37, so located that its apex is centrally along the line of the opening. This blade rests on a plate 38, inclined downwardly in each direct-ion from the blade terminating near the sides of the body, an upper plate 39 being formed parallel with the lower plate to form a pair of diverging channels 40. Below this channel is a pair of plates 4.1, the inner ends of which are inclined downwardly and these plates are separated from each other a short distance, to provide an opening 42, which leads to the upper cylinder 23. I

A longitudinal partition 43 is formed between the two converging channels 44, as shown.

A pair of shields 45, is formed around the upper portions of the cylinders, separated from the cylinders a suflicient distance to provide narrow channels 46, these channels being connected with enlarged deflecting channels 47, formed by the upper and lower plates 48, 49, which lead to the converging channels 50 below the upper cylinder, and

longitudinal openings 51, which lead to the lower cylinder 24. A vertical longitudinal partition 52 is also located above the opening 51. The enlargement of the laterally specific purpose. hen the comminuted particles are forced around the upper end of the cylinder, through the narrow channels 46, by means of the air blast, the enof the particles, with the result that the amalgamated cylinder is able to catch a greater amount of the precious metal, than if the channel should be continuous and uniform, as I have repeatedly shown in practice. The lower cylinder also has similar shields 45, plates 48, 42, and converging channels 53, which terminate at the longitudinal discharge opening 19.

In order to readily assemble the deflecting plates, the interiors of the sect-ions are provided with cleats, shown at 55, to which the plates are fastened in any manner suitable, and these cleats are so located that the sections can be taken apart without disturbing them, or the sections may contain the deflecting plates which can be permanently attached thereto.

In operation the cylinders slowly revolve, approximately ten revolutions per minute, and the comminuted particles are fed by a blast into the longitudinal opening 18. The blast is then diverted by the A-shaped blade 37 into the two diverging channels 40, and through the convergent channels 44, to the channels 46 around the upper cylinder. This cylinder being coated with quicksilver, gathers the gold dust more or less of which is held by the mercury, in the pan 30. Such gold as is not thus arrested by the upper cylinder is carried down through the channels 47 50 to the lower cylinder and taken up by the quicksilver, and this lower cylinder being provided with the scrapers 35, 36, will constantly keep the surface of the cylinder clean and deposit all amalgamated gold in the pan.

hat I claim as new, is

1. In amalgamators, a body having an ore inlet at its upper end, provided with de; fiecting conduits to divide the ore carried into said body, means for supplying. ore with an air blast to the bod a removable amalgamating cylinder aroun which the ore travels, enlarged divergent conduits on the sides of the cylinder, the upper and lower walls of said conduits converging toward each other at their outer ends, and converging conduits leading from the diverging conduits to acommon discharge pointbelow the cylinder.

2, In amalgamators, an inclosing casing,a revoluble amalgamating cylinder journaled within, an amalgamating pan or trough below the cylinder, projecting out from one side of the casing, and a closure slide adapted to close the opening between the quicksilver and the upper edge of the opening in the casing.

8. In amalgamators, a body, a revoluble amalgamating cylinder therein, an amalgam pan or trough below said cylinder in which the cylinder turns, a scraper within the pan near one edge so located that as the cylinder moves down into the pan, the amalgamated particles will be retained in the pan, and a scraper at the other edge of the pan which scrapes off the surplus mercury as the cylinder leaves the pan.

4. In amalgamators, a pair of separable unit-sections, a revoluble amalgamating cylinder journaled at the joined part of the sections, the upper section having an ore inlet at its upper end and provided with circularly-formed conduits around the upper side of the cylinder, the lower section having oppositely-projecting enlarged deflecting conduits converging at their outer ends, and communicating with horizontal converging channels to form a common discharge below the cylinder.

5. In amalgamators, an inclosing casing, a revoluble amalgamating cylinder journaled wvithin said casing, an amalgamating trough below the cylinder, a scraping blade at each edge of the trough, the casing having an ore inlet above the cylinder and a discharge opening below the cylinder, and provided with diverging conduits from the sides of the cylinder, said conduits being so arranged as to form continuous channels from the inlet above the cylinder and the outlet below the cylinder.

Signed at the city and county of Los Angeles, State of California, this 25th day of 20 May, 1911, in the presence of witnesses:

FREDERICK J. HOYT.

\Vitnesses J. S. ZERBE, H. D. HANSCOM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

